Film editor Walter Murch, longtime friend of George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola gave a masterclass in this yera's Boston SuperMeet It's always great to see such talented people explain their working ethics, habits and tricks.
American Apparel
The cold weather is back in Madrid and I needed a pullover. I was surfing the net and suddenly I remembered a store I once went last year when I was in Mexico. American Apparel. There are not in Madrid yet, just in Barcelona, but they have an online store so I entered in their web site and saw their factory. It's just amazing how well Americans sell their products. What else can I say...buy more now...and be happy. Of course I ended buying a pullover online.
New Room
Today, after some months living in Parque Polvoranca, Leganes with my cousin and her family I found a small nice room in Madrid, not far from Estrecho Metro station. So, I picked up my suitcase and my bike and just move there. I'm going to miss living with Amaia her husband Jose and their children Carlota & Javier, they are crazier and funnier everyday. I really appreciate it how nice they have been with me all this years since I moved from my hometown to Madrid and specially this last couple of months I was living with them. But live goes on and it was time to find my way. I'm going to continue visiting them very often as we are so close. Mental note: I have to go to Ikea to buy some sheets.
Hands-On Rapid Innovation
Today I started a course organized by UPM titled Hands-On Rapid Innovation with teachers Chris McCoy and Walter Foxworth. I believe it's a good opportunity to take projects from the past, re-think them and come up with new stuff.
Phil & Pat
The NBA lockout goes on. First two weeks of the competition have been suspended already. Anyway, I realized about the fact that Phil Jackson and Pat Rilley have won 16 NBA championships all together and I decided to take some time and make a photomontage as a tribute.
The American Propaganda Machinery
After last year’s David Fincher's most expensive and longest commercial ever: The Social Network. A two hour long movie about a dude that moves to Silicon Valley with a kind of a social media website called facebook, that end up turning him into billionaire at the age of 22. A Fifty million dollar movie, about a triumphal nerd that and which it's questioned even by the title of its own making of documentary included in the DVD; "How Did They Ever Make a Facebook Movie?". the question shouldn't be how but why. Probably there are many reasons, facebook is in everyones mouth, it's just another piece of hollywood enterteinment, it's an exercise on filmmaking, why no?... but I got another one: Done in California, with money that comes from California and returns to California. The message is clear, if you have a good idea, just come to Silicon Valley. This is the place to be. Don't get me wrong, the movie is great, Fincher at his best. But, the propaganda message infused on the film it's undeniable, as happens in many other occasions.
This Christmas, we have to get ready for kind of a different move. I was thinking on it since the moment I knew Fincher was directing an adaptation of Stieg Larsson's Millennium best-seller trilogy. The films were adapted few years ago by a Swedish director. Then, why are Hollywood studios interested on remaking them? It's true that people where hooked with the stories, and US audiences prefer to watching English language movies, but I had some funny ideas in my head, and when I read this interview with the director, I believe all my fear were confirmed.
I'm considered as an expert in perversion but Larsson raised the bar very high with his trilogyMy movie's not pretty, it's brutal. And its violence totally makes sense in Sweden's immaculate landscapeSwedish society seems to be very tolerant and calm. But as soon as you dig beneath it, you find the dark side of the country. Dragon Tattoo succeeds in showing in what way fascism moved from the political sphere toward finance's.- David Fincher
This is going to be probably the feel bad movie of the year that will make you put the Swedish socialist society in no high esteem. I haven't seen the movie, of course. I'm desiring to do so; Fincher is one of my all time favorite directors and one of the bests in his field. I guess the message once again is going to be straight to the head of the spectator: Sweden, a beautiful country; they mannage their money in aproper way, they have big international companies, they are powerful but what you didn't know and we are gonna learn in this movie is that beneath all that everything is rotten. Again, a movie made in California, with money from California. Why the hell are they going to show Sweden as a paradise. America is a much better place. For sure.
I have been once in California, just for ten days, and I would love to go to back. I like the US, I like how they work and I like how they think and do things, from movies to hamburgers. I guess, at the end of the day the propaganda works. We, the people believe it. And if you believe a lot in something then it's just a matter of time before it becomes a reality.
I have been in Sweden too; Twice. Another great place, people is kind and everything is so organized and clean. Winter id too harsh for me, maybe. I have a couple of good friends there and I hope to go back soon to visit them back. But I don't think the movie will show that Sweden I know.
P.S.: While I was writing this, a satirical video from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, broadcasted on April 2009 came to my mind. Make your own conclusions. All the same, the video is very funny. Here both parts.
NEWS | AHABI + Congratulations to Aaron
Today we present the brand AHABI to celebrate that AA&NN's co-founder Aaron Busca has graduated in Telecommunications Engineering by Mondragon University this Thursday, having a mark of 9.2 over 10 in its final project about embedded systems. We think AHABI as a division of AA&NN focused on providing creative solutions based on hardware and software to solve problems in our own projects and translate this knowledge to the projects of our clients. We hope to make great things and meet many great people in the road.
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This post marks the post number 100 in this chronoBLOG. So, congratulations to ourselves as well.
Steve Jobs dies at age 56
Steve Jobs passed away. It's so sad to think that he is not going to appear presenting all those pioneering products that year after year have revolutionized the consumer electronics business any more. It's hard to believe that he won't be in Cupertino thinking and working with his colleagues at Apple any more.
But, for the vast majority of us, that just know him from written media or have seen him on YouTube, is going to be specially weird not to have him some in a while around us. That small dose of Steve Jobs that feels so good to everyone, from the rich business man on Wall Street to the lazy student from wherever. The same way we won't have another Kubrick movie, the same way we won't have another Tezuka manga or another essay from Oteiza, we won't have any other Steve's state of the art keynotes presenting us his company's latest creations.
However, Steve, as all great people do, has left a huge legacy behind him. Companies like Apple or Pixar have their roots in Steve's way of doing things and he has become a model for hundreds of thousands entrepreneurs around the world. And that memory, will live forever.
Rest in peace Steve.
Note on the video: The video above is one of my favorites. It was year 1997 and Jobs was just back at Apple to rescue it from bankruptcy. And sure he did. Here the presentation of one of the best commercial campaigns ever done in the computer industry: Think Different. It's amazing how much you can learn from this guy.
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